Safety seat belt buckle



Sept 3, 1968 n. SHANKLIN ETAL 3,399,431

SAFETY SEAT BELT BUCKLE Filed April 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 147 .x241Q( 2f 147 .Z/ li a fai 2 7 1:2

436 fifi Sept 3, 1968 D. J. SHANKLIN ETAL. 3,399,431

SAFETY SEAT BELT BUCKLE Filed April 1'7, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MinimiINVENTORS 5f M f W aj /a/)m/ United States Patent O V4ABSTRACTDISCLOSURE A two-part quickly attachable and releasable safety seat beltapparatus for vehicles, such apparatus cornprising a buckle body, and abuckle hasp insertable into the buckle body .and automatically,lockingly coupled together and manually releasable byoverlapping-locking control components which slide principally withinthe buckle body transverse to the normal direction of impactacceleration and deceleration forces applicable thereto in use. Thedevice includes a catch member in the buckle and a hasp which isinserted into the buckle and locked in coupling engagement with thecatch member when the buckle and hasp are forcefully joined together,and manually operated means slidable longitudinally of the buckle isincluded for unlocking the hasp and moving the hasp from couplingeng-agement with the catch member. Y

Brief summary of the invention Safety seat belt buckle mechanisms of thetype heretofore employed in connection with automobiles, airplanes, andthe like vehicles, have been constructed in such manner as to requiremanual manipulation and release by meansof handle, lever or push buttoncontrol elements which usually swing or move in directions generallyparallel to the direction f the forces of acceleration or decelerationto which they are likely to be subjected, whereby under severeconditions, often causing inadvertent release of such seat belt buckledevices at the very instant of which they shouldbe most securely locked.

Another weakness in the seat belt buckle device as heretofore employedresidesrin the construction usually employed, whereby in event of severeimpact of the buckle with a part of the vehicle, such as for examplewith the steering wheel of an automobile, the parts may be sprung apartto such an extent as to cause failure of the buckle device at a timewhen its strength and integrity are most needed.

The seat belt buckle .construction of the herein disclosed inventionovercomes the before described disadvantages of the conventional seatbelt apparatus by employing a construction in which substantially all ofthe movements of thecoupling and disengaging control components arelongitudinal with respect to the -belt buckle and hasp axis and thusacceleration .or deceleration forces cannot act upon the mechanism ofthe belt buckle in such a way as to lcause inadvertent release. y

Another feature of the invention resides in the crushproof constructionof the buckle body atiorded by the superposed overlapping or stackedarrangement of the several parts thereof such that in event of severeimpact of the buckle withv a part of the vehicle, such as -for examplewith the steering wheel, such parts will tend to be forced securelytogether instead of being sprung apart as can occur in many of thebuckle devices heretofore known.

Another feature of this invention resides in the provision of means inthe belt buckle whereby when the release mechanism is actuated, the twoseparable parts of 3,399,431 Patented Sept.

ice

the apparatus, namely the belt buckle andthe belt hasp, are released andpositively forced apart, thereby affording a quick, positive release ofthe `seat belt attachment elements eliminating any need forzsubsequentmanual tinkering with the parts to accomplishsuch disconnection.

Still another advantageous feature of: the apparatus of the presentinvention resides in the employment of a latch mechanism in the beltbuckle which.' permits they belt buckle and belt-hasp to be manuallycoupled'together without resultant movement of any-of the controlelements which extend to or are accessible from the exterior of the beltbuckle. Thus the coupling engagement of the belt buckle .and hasp Icanbe conveniently accomplished while one hand of the operator completelygrasps the belt buckle, and without interfering in any way with thelatching action :which otherwise occurs :with :belt buckle apparatus inwhich external levers or buttons must be caused to move in order topermit the latching action to take place. v i

Thus the operation of the apparatus of this invention is more safe,convenient, rapid and dependable than prevvalent in most of the seatbelt buckle apparatus heretofore known. y

Other advantages and features of novelty of the invention will beevident hereinafter. Y v

Brief description of the several views 0f the drawing In the drawingswhich show by way of illustration'the presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention and in which like reference characteristics designate thesame or similar parts throughout the several views: y

FIGURE l is a perspective view ofthe general assembly of the entire seatbelt' buckle apparatus of the invention, showing the two releasableparts thereof, namely the belt buckle and hasp, coupled and lockedtogether, with respective opposite end portions of a seat belt `attachedthereto;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the hasp portion of the apparatusseparated from the buckle and with the seat belt omitted;

FIGURE 3 is -a longitudinal, sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE1, showing theseat belt buckle and hasp apparatus in a completelycoupled and lockedtogether condition;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4,-4 of FIGURE 3;`

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the apparatus shown inFIGUREl 3, but showing the positions of the parts of the belt buckle andhasp atan initial stage of interconnection of the hasp and belt buckle;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of the same portion of the apparatusshown in FIGURE 5, but showing the positions of the parts of the beltbuckle and hasp just prior to reaching a fully connected andlatched-together condition;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view of the same portion of the apparatusshown in FIGURES 5 and 6, but showing the positions of the parts of thebelt buckle and hasp at the initial stage of releasing the connectionbetween the belt buckle and hasp;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, top elevational view of the apparatus assemblyshown in FIGURE l, but with the cover of the belt buckle body removed toexpose th latch lock control member and latch lock spring component ofthe apparatus;

FIGURE 11 is an end, elevational view of the apparatus component ofFIGURE- taken from line 11-11 thereof;

FIGURE 12V is a side, elevational view of the apparatus element shown inFIGURES 10 and 11;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed sectional view taken online 13-13 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the safety belt webbing attachmentbar contained within the buckle assembly and employed for adjustablyattaching one looped end of the seat belt to the belt buckle; and

FIGURE 15 is a top-side, perspective view of the detachable cover forthe belt buckle body.

Detailed description Apparatus- Referring rst primarily to FIGURES 1, 2and 3, the two principal attachable and releasable coupling componentsof the seat belt buckle apparatus comprise a buckle shown generally at10 and a hasp shown generally at 12. The buckle -10 is adjustablyattached at one end thereof, as shown at 14 in FIGURE 3, to anadjustable loop 16 formed at one end of one-half portion of the seatbelt, such adjustable attachment being hereinafter more fully described,and the hasp 12 is preferably fixedly attached to one end of the otherhalf portion of the seat belt by means of a conventionally stitched foldwhich forms a fixed loop 20 passing through a transverse slot 22 formedthrough an intermediate portion of the hasp 12.

Referring in more detail to the buckle 10, it consists basically of atwo-pieced, hollow housing comprising a channel-shaped, open-ended andopen-topped buckle body 24, and a cover, as indicated generally at 25,detachably attached to and covering the open-topped portion thereof.

The buckle body 24 is preferably formed in one piece of moderately thicksheet metal, with a generally flat bottom wall 28, and laterallyopposite, parallel side walls and 32 terminating at their outer edges inrelatively narrow, inturned, top tianges 34 and 36 which extendsubstantially the entire length of the upper side of the buckle body 24.The channel-shaped buckle body 24 is of uniform cross-sectional sizeexcept, that beginning at an intermediate transverse bend line, as shownat 27 in FIG- URE 3, the right-hand portion of the bottom wall 28 isformed with an upwardly sloping portion 38, thereby presenting aright-hand end portion tapering in height and terminating in aright-hand end opening of reduced height relative to the left-hand endopening.

The upwardly sloping bottom portion 38 of the buckle body 24 is providedthrough the thickness thereof with a relatively wide, transverselyextending slot 40 for entrance therethrough the hereinbefore mentionedadjustable loop 16 of the seat belt webbing. Slidably retained withinthe tapered, right-hand end portion of the buckle body 24, adjacent thebeforementioned slot 40, is a crosswise-extending frictional lock, beltattachment bar 42, around which the beforementioned loop 16 of the seatbelt webbing passes, as shown at 44, the arrangement being such that, inoperation, if tension is applied to the attached lower one, 16a, of theadjacent superposed return portions of the seat belt loop 16, the bar 42is thereby urged Slidably toward the right-hand edge of the slot 40 tothe position shown in FIGURE 3, in which the portion of the beltdisposed between the bar 42 and the righthand edge of the slot 40 isiirmly wedged such as to prevent slippage of the belt webbing around thebar 42 and through the slot 40. However, if tension is applied to theloose return end portion, 16b, of the belt loop 16, while the tension inthe portion 16a thereof is released, the belt loop readily slips aroundthe lock bar 42, thereby permitting the user to adjust the effectivelength and tension of the seat belt.

The lock bar 42 is approximately triangular in crosssection, as bestshown in FIGURES 3 and 14, with the right-hand edge thereof, whichnormally makes wedging contact with the belt adjacent the right-handedge of slot 40, as aforesaid, slightly concaved as shown at 43. Theopposite ends of the lock bar 42 `are provided with attached end guideplates 48 and 50, the outer surfaces of which make loose, slidingengagement with the adjacent inner surfaces of the side walls 30 and 33,thereby providing guidance to the movement of the lock bar 4Z, and `byengagement of the upper and lower edges thereof with the inner surfacesof the top flanges 34 and 36 and the bottom wall 28, its escape of thelock bar from the tapered right-hand end of the buckle body 24 isprevented when not encircled by and ,attached to the seat belt loop 16.The end guide plates 48 and 50 also in the same manner serve to limitthe clamping movement of the lock bar, under the tension of theencircling seat belt, to `a position at which the seat belt is rmlyclamped between the concave edge portion 43 of the lock bar and theadjacent parallel right-hand edge portion of slot 40, yet is restrainedby the guide plates from further movement in a clamping direction whichmight otherwise result in damage or cutting of the seat belt at thatpoint.

As beforementioned, the top of the buckle ibody 24 is provided with agenerally rectangular-shaped, attachable cover 25 Shown detached inFIGURE l5. The cover 25, when attached, rests upon and extends betweenthe upper surfaces of the top flanges 34 and 36 of the buckle body 24,and forms therewith a generally rectangular sectioned guide channel 53,the cross-sectional shape of which is best shown in FIGURE 4, and whichextends uniformly lengthwise with the buckle body 24 between theleft-hand end and the bend line 27 at the beforementioned juncture ofthe flat bottom wall 28 with the upwardly sloping bottom wall portion38. The cover 25 is formed at the left-hand end thereof, as best viewedin FIGURES 1 and 15, with a rectangular slot 54 having an opening at itsleft-hand end between a pair of integrally formed, oppositelyIpositioned, downwardly-extending corner wing members as shown at 56 and58. The wing members 56 and 58 serve partially to close the sideportions of the left-hand end opening of the rectangular guide channel53 which extends between the adjacent upper surface of the bottom wall28 and the under surface of the top flanges 34 and 36,` and also act asretainers for a release control member 60 `which is longitudinallyslidably contained in the left-hand end portion of the guide channel 53within the body 24, as hereinafter more fully described. The right-handend of the cover 2S is provided with an integrally formed, downwardlysloping, end closure wall 62 having notches at its transversely oppositeends, as shown at 64 and 66, which upon application of suliicientdownward force to the top of cover 25 to spring the cover slightly, snapinto 4retaining locking engagement with the left-hand end portions ofthe top anges 34 and 36. The left-hand end of the cover 25 is providedwith similar notches 63 and 65 which engage the top anges 34 and 36.

As hereinbefore mentioned, contained and relatively closely fittingwithin the left-hand portion of the guide channel 53 and longitudinallyslidable therein ybetween limits determined 4by the right-hand edge ofthe rectangular slot 54 and the wing members 56 and 58, is a generallyrectangular bodied, latch release control mernber 60. As vbest shown inFIGURE 9, the left-hand end of the release control member 60 has anintegrally formed crosswise-extending, control ange 68 which extendsupwardly through the slot 54 above the level of the upper surface of thecover 25, and which is adapted to slide longitudinally within the`rbeforementioned 'slot 54, and by means of which longitudinal slidingmovement may be Imanually imparted to the release control member 6l).The release control member 60 also has integrally formed, transverselyspaced-apart, parallel, downwardly projecting side runner -members 70and 72, the lower edges 74 and 74a of which make longitudinal slidingengagement with the adjacent upper surface of the :bottom wall 28 of thebuckle body 24. The running members 70 and'72 thereby serve slidably tosupport the control member 60 within the guide channel v53 with thelower surface 57 thereof spaced from the upper surface of the bottomwall 28 of the buckle body 24 a fixed distance, to form an entranceopening for the tongue portion of the hasp 12. The right-hand end of therelease control memberi60 is formed with a trapezoidal-shapedindentation 76, and at the transverse extremities' ofsuch'trapezoidal-shaped indentation 76 is a pair of transversely"spaced-apart, downwardly extending, and downwardly tapered," coup-linglegs 76`and 78.

Also longitudinallyjslidably retained within the-guide channel 53,intermediate the right-hand end of the release control member 6 0v andthe bend line 27 of the bottom wall 28 of buckle body 24, is a latch'control body shown generally at 80.v The latch control 'body 80 as bestshown in FIGURES l0 and ll is formed'with an upstanding rim 82 whichenclosesa depressedrrecess 84 into which the right-hand end portionofthe release control member extends andr'nakes longitudinally slidable,overlapping engagement-ln theassembled 'condition as best shown inFIGURES 3, 5, 6 and 7, the beforementioned coupling legs 78a and 78extend downwardly through coupling holes 86 and 88, respectively, formedthrough the bottom and end portions of 'the recess 84 of the latchcontrol body' 80. The :dimensions of the cou-I pling legs 7 8a and 78relative to the coupling holes 86 and 88 are such as to couple therelease control member 60 and the latch body 80 for longitudinal slidingmotion together except for a predetermined amounty of longitudinal lostmotion therebetween which is determined by the limited longitudinal`sliding movement possible between the coupling legs 78a and 78 and therelatively'longitudinally longer coupling holes 86 and 88. l

The beforementioned recess v84,V including thejrim'82, is formed with atrapezoidal-shaped projection 90 matching in shape that of thetrapezoidal-shaped indentation '76 formed inthe right-hand edge of therelease control'bdy 60,- andwhich is adapted to move into andout of suchindentation accompanying'the beforementioned longitudinal overlappingslidingjmotion of the releasecontrol member 60 and the latch body 80relative'ito one another, perrnittedbythe beforementioned lost motioncoufpling. Thetransversely opposite end portionsV 92 and 94 4of thelatch control body 80, including the end lportions. of thebeforementioned rim 82, are formed of suicient' vertical thickness -tomake guided sliding engagement be-` tween the adjacent upper surfacevofthebottom' wallV 28 and the lower surfaces ofthe top anges'34 and 36,

whereby the latch control body 80 is afforded, limited,e

longitudinal sliding guidance within its adjacent portion of the guidechannel 53. The bottom surface portion of the latch control body 80,intermediate the beforementioned ends 92 and 94 thereof, is formed witha crosswise extending, downwardly-facing clearance recess 96 forreceiving lthe right-hand, tapered extremity of the tongue 98 of hasp12, with the lower surface 97 of the recess 96 thereby adapted to makelongitudinally sliding and latch-retaining engagement over the uppersurface of' the said Vinne-r tapered tongue portion 98 of thehasp 12, inthe manner best shown in FIGURE 3.

The lower, right-hand edge of the latcz control body 80 is also formedwith a crosswise-extending, beveled or curved cam surface as shown at101,` leading into the right-hand side of the clearance recess 96, suchsurface being bounded along its upper side by the right-hand edge ofthebottom surface ofthe beforementioned depressed recess 84 and alongits lower surface by the righthand edge of the downwardly-facing lowersurface 97 of the clearance recess 96. The beveled or curved cam surface101 serves as an abutment between the inner end of the tongue portion 98of the hasp 12 and acts to guide the inner end portion of the tongueportion 98 into latching engagement with the catch dog 124 ashereinafter described in the description of the operation of theapparatus. Y

Formed integrally with the latch control body 80 and extending fromspaced-apart portions of the rim 82 defining the beforementionedtrapezoidal-shaped'projection 90, is a latch control, bias springassembly shown generally at 102, adapted to bias the latch control body80 slidably toward a maximum left-hand position inthe guide channel 53Within the latch body 24. The latch control bias spring assembly 102consists of a pair of resilient, oppositely outwardly diverging, armportions 104 and 106 carrying at the outer ends thereof a pair ofvertically extending cylindrical attachment members 108 and 110 whichnormally, in the assembled condition of the apparatus, as best shown inFIGURES 3 and 8, are positioned with the lower ends thereof in abutmentwith the upper inner surface of the bottom wall 28 of the buckle body24, and with the upper end portions thereof extending upwardly throughand in detachable retaining engagement with a pair of oppositelylocated, inwardly facing U-shaped retainer notches 112 and 114,respectively, formed into the inner, confronting edges of the topflanges 34 and 36. Integrally formed with and extending from thecylindrical attachment members 108 and 110 are a pair of resilient,semi-elliptical spring members 116 and 118 terminating in cylindricalshaped end bearing pads 120 and 122, respectively, adapted to bearagainst the left-hand central surface portion of the attachment bar 42or against the seat belt webbing loop extending therearound as bestshown in FIGURES 3 and 8. The principal biasing force of the latch biasspring assembly 102 is afforded by the aforementioned resilient armportions 104 and 106, and the semi-elliptical spring members 116 and 118serve principally to exert a right-hand directioned biasing forceagainst the attachment bar 42 or against the seat belt webbing looptherearound, as beforementioned, in order to tend to maintain a beltlocking bias thereagainst.

Referring again to the buckle body 24 and particularly to the bottomwall 28 thereof, there is formed therein an upwardly-projectinginwardly-facing, generally buttress-shaped catch dog 124rhaving aninwardly, upwardly sloping upper surface 126 terminating in a flat,crosswise-extending, inwardly facing catch shoulder 128 with which anopening in the inner end portion of tongue 98 of the hasp 12 is adaptedto make releasable latching engagement.

Rackably supported upon the inner, upwardly facing surface of the bottomwall 28 of the buckle body 24,

I- inwardly adjacent the catch shoulder 128 of the catch dog 124 is alatch-disengaging rocker lever 130. The rocker lever 130, although it isshown as made of thin, resilient s heet metal, may have a relativelythicker rigid constructron, and 1s generally rectangular in plan view,as best shown in FIGURE 8. The rocker lever 130 is bent or curved acrossits mid-section to provide a pair of wide lever arms 132 and 134,extending at an obtuse angle with respect to one another from theresultant transverse apex 135, upon which it is rockably supported asaforesaid. The rocker lever 130 is retained in place by means of a pairof transversely spaced-apart, integrally formed lugs 136 and 138 whichextend downwardly adjacent its apex 135 into relatively loose engagementwith a pair of correspondingly positioned lug-retaining holes and 142,formed through the bottom wall 28. The rocker lever 130 is therebyadapted to rock upon its apex 135 between two angular positions, namelybetween the angular position shown in FIGURES 3, 5 and 6l and theangular position shown in FIGURE 7. The bottom ends of thebeforementioned coupling legs 78a and 78 of the latch control body 80make slidable engagement with the upper surface of the rocker lever 130and thereby serve both to retain the lugs 136 and 138 in engagement withthe lug-retaining holes 140 and 142, and upon longitudinal movement ofthe latch control member 80 between its position upon lever arm 132shown in FIG- URES 3, and 6 and its position upon lever arm 134 shown inFIGURE 7, to force the rocker lever 130 to rock between thebeforementioned two positions shown.

Referring next primarily to FIGURE 2, in which the beforementioned hasp12 is best shown, the hasp comprises a flat, metal base 144 from whichextends the beforementioned flat, tapered hasp tongue 98 whichterminates inA a forward end edge 156. The hasp tongue 98 is providedthrough the approximate central portion thereof with a rectangular latchopening 146 having an inner, transverse latch shoulder 147 adapted tomake latching engagement with the hereinbefore-mentioned transversecatch shoulder 128 of the catch dog 124 within the buckle body 24, asshown in FIGURE 3, 4and as will be hereinafter more fully described inconnection with the operation of the apparatus.

The base portion 144 of the hasp 12 is provided with a transverse slot22 for receiving the loop 20 of the seat belt as hereinbefore-mentioned.The sides of the base portion 144 of the hasp 12 are preferably,although not necessarily, provided with a pair of parallel, oppositelypositioned, upturned flanges 148 and 150 which serve as stiffeningmembers and which also serve as stops, which by abutment of the forwardends 152 and 154 thereof, with the outer surface of the wing stopmembers 56 and 58, respectively, of the cover 25, determine the properdistance of insertion of the tongue 98 into the buckle body at whichlatching engagement between the opening 146 in hasp 12 and the catch dog124 in the buckle 10 occurs.

Operation- Assuming first for convenience of illustration that the beltbuckle 10 and hasp 12 are disconnected from one another and it isdesired to couple them together, the belt buckle 10 may be grasped byone hand and the hasp 12 by the other hand and the tongue 98 of the hasp12 inserted in the direction indicated by arrow 15 in FIGURE S, into thebeforedescribed entrance opening in the left-hand end of the bucklelbody 24 formed between the inner confronting surfaces of the siderunner members 70 and 72 of the release control member 60 and betweenthe upper surface of the bottom wall 28 of the buckle body 24 and thelower surface 57 of the release control member 60. The forward end edge156 of the tongue 98 of the hasp 12 first encounters the upwardlysloping upper surface 126 of the catch tongue 124, by which the hasptongue 98 is then lifted to an initial position corresponding to thatbest shown in FIGURE 5, with the forward end 156 thereof in abutmentwith the curved cam surface 101 of latch control body 80. Upon applyingcontinued inward force to the hasp 12, as indicated by arrow 17 inFIGURE 6, the latch control body 80 is forced by the forward edge 156 ofthe hasp tongue 98 to slide in a right-hand direction within the guidechannel 53 against the opposing biasing force of the resilient armmembers 104 and 106, from the position shown in FIGURE 5 to the positionshown in FIGURE 6, at which latter position, by reason of the action ofthe curved cam surface 101, the tongue 98 of the hasp 12 is forceddownwardly into the position shown in FIGURE 3 at which the rectangularopening 146 in the hasp tongue 98 drops down over the catch dog 124 andthe latch shoulder 147 brought into latching engagement with the catchshoulder 128.

Immediately following the downward movement of the hasp tongue 98 suchas to bring the latch shoulder 147 thereof into latch engagement withthe catch shoulder 128 of the catch dog 124, the latch control body 80is freed to slidingly return from its position shown in FIGURE 6 to thatshown in FIGURE 3 at which latter position the lower surface 97 of thelatch control body 80 within the clearance space 96 therein, moves overthe top surface of the forward end of tongue 98 to the position shown inFIGURE 3 thereby locking the tongue 98 down against the upper surface ofthe lever arm 132 of the latch-disengaging rocker lever 130 in aposition from which it cannot escape from its latching engagement withthe catch dog 124. The hasp 12 is thereby securely locked in couplingengagement with the belt buckle 10. During the foregoing connectionoperations, the release control niember 60 and the control flange 68attached thereto may remain stationary by reason of the beforementionedlost motion provided in the coupling between the release control member60 and the latch control body 80. Therefore the grasping of the buckle10 by one hand, as beforementioned, in such a way as to prevent movementof the release control member 60 and flange 68 will not in any wayinterfere with the buckling action.

When it is desired to release the hasp 12 from coupling engagement withthe belt buckle 10, the linger control flange 68 is pushed in aright-hand direction, as indicated by arrow 19 in FIGURE 7, therebycorrespondingly sliding the release control member 60 in a right-handdirection. The result of such motion of the release control member 60 isfirst to take up all of the lost motion provided between the couplinglegs 78a and 78 thereof and the coupling holes 86 and 88 in the latchcontrol body 80, after which continued movement of the release controlmember 60 in a right-hand direction results in movement of the latchcontrol body in 4a right-hand direction, in opposition to the bias ofthe resilient arms 104 and 106, from the position shown in FIGURE 3 tothat shown in FIGURE 7, at which latter position the lower surface 97 ofthe latch control body 80 is removed from locking engagement with theupper surface of the hasp tongue 98. At the same time the lower ends ofthe coupling legs 78a and 78 of the release control member 60 are movedalong the upper surface of the latch-disengaging rocker lever from theposition shown in FIGURE 3 at which they are in contact with the uppersurface of the lever arm portion 132 thereof, to the position shown inFIGURE 7 at which they are in contact with the upper surface of thelever ar-m portion 134. The latch-disengaging rocker lever 130 isthereby forced to rock upon its apex 135 from the position shown inFIGURE 3 to that shown in FIGURE 7, at which latter position the leverarm portion 132 lifts the inner end of the hasp tongue 98 upwardly to aposition in which the latch shoulder 147 of the latch opening 146 ismoved out of engagement with the latch shoulder 128 of catch tongue 124,thereby releasing the hasp 12 from the catch dog 124 and permitting itswithdrawal from the belt buckle 10.

Following such release of the hasp 12 from the belt buckle 10 andrelease of the manually applied force on the linger control flange 68,the release control member 60 may return to its initial position shownin FIGURE 5.

As hereinbefore-mentioned, the seat belt buckle body 24 and the hasp 12are preferably constructed of relatively thick sheet metal, and suchsheet metal may be composed of steel, or material of similar strength.While the other components of the belt buckle 10 may also be made ofsuitable metals, it has been found advantageous to form them, includingthe latch control bias spring assembly 102, of various suitableplastics, one such plastic material being Delrin which is an acetalresin manufactured by E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Inc. Such parts maybe formed by any of the well known processes employable with plasticssuch as, for example, injection molding.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been hereinillustrated and described, it is to be understood that such illustrationand description are illustrative only, and that the invention is not tobe limited thereby but includes all modifications and variations thereofwhich may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a belt buckle, apparatus comprising:

a housing having an opening in one end thereof;

.9. catch means fixed to, and having a transverse catch shoulderlocated-in said housing;

i a hasp member having a forward transverse latch shoulder portionforinsertion through said one Iend longitudinally into said" housing, saidlatch' shoulder portion being adapted to makek latching engagementtherein with said catch shoulder; f

a latch lock control member 'longitudinally guidedly slidable in saidhousing between a first longitudinal Y position and a secondlongitudinal position, said lock controlv member, whenl in said firstposition, being located in a position to lock such latch shoulderportion inflatching engagement withsaid catch shoulder, and when insaidsecond position, being located in la position unlocking said latchshoulder portion from latching engagement with-said catch resilient biasmeans normally maintaining saidrlock controlimemberV in said firstposition; v

' a latch release control member-longitudinally guidedly slidableinsaidhousing; Y n .lost motion ,coupling means interconnecting said lockcontrol member and said releasecontrolvmember through which said lockcontrol member is slidable between said rst longitudinal position andsaid second longitudinal position, in opposition to said biasing means,by imparting longitudinal movement to said latch release control member,but permitting said lock control member to be lo'ngitudinally'slidablebetween said first longitudinal position and said second longitudinalposition, as aforesaid, ywithout necessitating such longitudinal slidingmovement of said release control member;

means to guide said latch shoulder portion ofsaid hasp member intoabutment with said control member, upon insertion of said latchshoulderportionthereof through said one end into said housing, wherewithsaid lock control member is slidable in opposition to said bias means,from said first position to said second position;

means effective when said lock control member thus reaches said secondposition, to guide said latch shoulder portion out of such abutment withsaid lock control member and into latching engagement with said catchshoulder, and thereby free said lock control member for return by saidbias means from said second position to said first position, in whichsecond position said latch shoulder portion is lockable by said lockcontrol member in such latching engagement with said catch shoulder, asaforesaid.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 and means independent of said latchshoulder portion for manually imparting longitudinal movement to saidlatch release control member and thence through said lost motioncoupling means to said lock control member to move said lock controlmember from said first position to said second position, in oppositionto said biasing means, for unlocking said latch shoulder portion fromlatching engagement with said catch shoulder.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and:

disengaging means actuated by said release control member upon movementthereby of said latch control member from said rst position to saidsecond position, for disengaging a thus unlocked latch shoulder portionfrom latching engagement with said catch shoulder.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in Which:

said disengaging means includes movable means actuated as aforesaid, forapplying a force to such latch shoulder portion in a direction to movesuch latch shoulder relative to said catch shoulder to a position ofdisengagement therefrom.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which:

said movable means comprises a lever means pivotally supported in saidhousing with one end portion of Sessel said lever located adjacent saidcatch shoulder and in a position to be pivotally moved into contact withsaid latch shoulder portion when said latch shoulder portion is inlatching engagement with said catch shoulder;

y and actuating means fixed to said release control and in engagementwith said lever means, operative in response to sliding motion 'of saidactuating means relative to said lever means to pivot said lever meanssuch as to move said one end portion thereof forcefully into suchcontact with said latch shoulder portion, as said latch control member,actuated by said release control means, approaches said second posin ption thereof.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which said and actuatingmeans fixed to said -release control member and therewith slidable inforceful contact -along said lever device in a direction normal to said-pivot axis between positions of such sliding contact successively withopposite ones of said lever members on opposite sides of said pivotaxis, whereby said lever device is imparted angular rocking motion-about said axis between -angular positions of engagement and`disengagement of said one end portion of said one of said lever memberswith said portion of said latch shoulder portion.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said means to guide saidlatch shoulder portion out of abutment with said lock control member andinto latching engagement with said catch shoulder includes:

a cam surface portion formed on said control member at the point of saidabutment of said latch shoulder portion with said control member, saidcam surface portion having an angle relative to the longitudinal axis ofsaid housing such as to shift said latch shoulder portion laterally fromsuch position of abutment into latching engagement with said catchshoulder upon said control member reaching said second longitudinalposition.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which:

said lock control member and said release control member arelongitudinally slidably positioned in said housing in longitudinallyoverlapping superposed relation to one another.

`9. In a belt buckle, apparatus comprising:

a housing having an opening in one end thereof;

catch means xed t-o, and having a transverse catch shoulder located insaid housing;

a hasp member having a forward transverse latch shoulder portion forinsertion through said one end longitudinally into said housing, saidlatch shoulder portion being adapted to make latching engagement thereinwith said catch sh-oulder;

a latch lock control member longitudinally guidedly slidable in saidhousing between a iirst longitudinal position and a second longitudinalposition, said control member, when in said rst position, being locatedin a position to lock said latch shoulder portion in latching engagementwith said catch shoulder and when in said second position, being locatedin `a position unlocking said latch shoulder portion from latchingengagement with said catch shoulder;

resilient bias means normally maintaining said lock control member insaid iirst position;

means to guide said latch shoulder portion of said hasp member initiallyinto abutment with said lock control member, upon insertion of saidlatch shoulder portion thereof through said one end into said housingwherewith said lock control member is slidable in opposition to saidbias means, from said rst position to said second position;

means elective when said lock control member thus reaches said secondposition, to guide said latch shoulder portion out of such abutment withsaid lock control member and into latching engagement with said catchshoulder, and thereby free said lock control member to be returned bysaid bias means from said second position to said rst position in whichiirst position thereof said control member is in position to lock saidlatch shoulder portion in such latching engagement with said catchshoulder, as aforesaid;

lever means pivotally supported in said housing with one end portion ofsaid lever located adjacent said catch shoulder and in a position to 'bepivotally moved into contact with said latch shoulder portion when saidlatch shoulder portion is in latching engagement with said catchshoulder; and

actuating means movable with said lock control mem- 10. Apparatus inaccordance with clairn 9 wherein said Y 12 lever means comprises a leverdevice having two opposite levervmembers extending at an obtuse anglerelative to one another from an intermediate pivot by means of whichpivot said lever device is supported for limited angular rockingmovement about a pivot axis upon an inner =wall surface of said housing,said lever device being located adjacent said catch shoulder and in aposition such that one end portion of oneof said lever members ispivotally movable into contact with said latch shoulder portion whensaid latch shoulder portion is in latching engagement with said catchshoulder;

and wherein said actuating lmeans is coupled to said lock control memberand therewith slidable, in forceful Contact, along said lever device inya direction normal to saidvpivot axis between positions of such slidingcontact successively with opposite ones of said lever members -onopposite sides of said pivot axis, whereby said'lever device is impartedangular rocking motion Vabout said axis between angular positions ofengagement and disengagement of said one end portion of said one of saidlever members with said latch shoulder portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES' PATENTS 3,331,103 7/1967 Fisher er a1..Z4-230.1 3,131,215 5/1965 Eberhart 24-2301 3,127,655 4/1964 Carter24-230.l 3,130,466 4/1964 carter 24-77 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,359,0493/1964 France.

DONAIJD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner.

